Touchless automatic car wash systems in which a spray mechanism moves over and/or around a stationary vehicle have become popular due to the facts that they do not make physical contact with the painted or glass surfaces of the vehicle and take up less space than so-called conveyor washers. They are often installed in automobile dealerships as well as in smaller dedicated structures adjacent or connected to convenience stores and gas stations.
Au example of a modern touchless automatic car wash system can be found in U.S. Pat. No. 6,372,053 issued Apr. 16, 2002 and reissued Aug. 26, 2008 as RE 40,463 and assigned to Belanger, Inc. of Northville, Mich. This patent describes a spray-type car wash system in which a carriage is mounted overhead in a car wash bay and provided with a drive system which allows the carriage to move forward and backward on parallel overhead rails. A shuttle mounted on the carriage allows lateral movement as well. Depending from the shuttle are one or more spray arms which can be programmed to travel around a vehicle while directing sprays of washing and rinsing fluids at all exterior surfaces of the vehicle.